YEAR OF RICE

Azg/am
23 july 2004

Rice was a vital herb for the South-Eastern Asia for
centuries. Indo-China is the fatherland of rice. Even the soldiers of
Alexander the Great saw Indians growing rice. Today also the major
countries of rice growing are India, Chine, Japan, Burma, Indonesia
and the Middle East. The Armenians used to grow rice on the bank of
the Arax river, in the Ararat valley. Rice growing is not productive
in Armenia because of the unique natural and climatic conditions.

Considering the fact that rice is the main food for more than the half
of the world’s population, The UN declared 2004 to be the year of
rice. And the slogan of this year is “Rice is Life” which underlines
the importance of rice for the human kind. Rice is the only crop plant
that endures floods. Thousands sorts of rice are grown in the world.

Today 100 million African and Asian families are engaged in rice
growing and it is the main means of survival for them.

By Marieta Makarian

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress